Sawinder Singh
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
Adelaide Law School
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
My Ph.D. thesis applies (And seeks to develop) Ronald Dworkin’s notion of ‘Unity of Values’ on the relationship of Liberty and Equality in the context of affirmative action jurisprudence developed in India and the United States. To ground this normative discussion, I will extensively discuss the Indian and US affirmative action case laws. This discussion will first, expose the similar interpretive approach developed by the Indian and American apex courts in dealing with affirmative action policies, i.e. the notion, espoused by Isaiah Berlin and John Rawls, of inevitable contradiction among the values within political philosophy. Second, it will highlight the inability of both jurisdictions in providing stable and pro-affirmative action jurisprudence. I argue that this unstable affirmative action jurisprudence is caused by the underpinning notion of contradiction of values which have always imposed prioritisation of Liberty over Equality in political philosophy and constitutional interpretations. I will suggest using the notion of ‘Unity of Values’ as a tool in harmonising the relationship between these two values to stabilise overall equality jurisprudence. Through this exercise, I aim to explore and further the arguments of Unity of Values & Objective Morality within wider constitutional jurisprudence.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2010 - ongoing Lawyer Self -
Language Competencies
Language Competency English Can peer review Hindi Can read, write and speak Panjabi; Punjabi Can read, write and speak -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2019 - 2023 University of Adelaide Australia Ph.D. Candidate 2010 - 2014 Panjab University India MA Political Science 2005 - 2010 University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University India BALLB (Hons.) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2021 Singh, S. (2021). Transforming Affirmative Action Jurisprudence: Applying Eidelson’s theory on the Supreme Court of India. Cardozo International and Comparative Law Review, 20 pages. 2021 Alexander, R., & Sawinder, S. (2021). Frank and Fearless: Public Servants and Political Communication. Public Law Review, 32(1), 44-60. 2020 Singh, S. (2020). Conceptualising ‘Black Lives Matter’: Time to consider Substantive Equality as a Fundamental Constitutional Guarantee. Amity Law Review, 16(2), 70-84. -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 2022 Singh, S. (2022). The Ayodhya Case: Inconsistencies in Law and Politics of Indian History. In P. Babie, R. Barker, & N. Foster (Eds.), LAW AND RELIGION IN THE COMMONWEALTH: THE EVOLUTION OF CASE LAW (Hart Publications 2022). (1st ed., pp. 20 pages). Hart.
Commonwealth Upgrade to Ph.D. Stipend
Zelling Gray Supplementary Scholarship
I am Associate Teacher/Tutor at Adelaide Law School. I teach Principles of Public Law with an occasional guest lecture in Comparative Constitutional Law.
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